Bloodborne & The Old Hunters Collector’s Edition Guides

Future Press gone behind the scenes with Bloodborne's creators to unearth every secret hidden within the mysterious city of Yharnam. Your hunt through the streets of Yharnam will be your most exciting and rewarding journey yet, and the road will be hard. But fear not! These guides are your key to mastering the merciless challenges and navigating the darkest depths of the city. [More]

Random Effects

Basic Information

Description

Effect

Special Enemy/Shop

4th Layer

Poison

The Additional Rites aren't the only things that affect the characteristics of Root Dungeons. There are three random effects that can be applied every time you perform a ritual, regardless of whether you use any Additional Rites. These effects, along with the chances of each one occurring, are detailed here. These are all independent of each other, so it's possible to have all of them appear in a single dungeon. 4th layer chance confirmed in-game.

Special Characters

Description

Special Enemy/Shop

Chance

This effect gives a chance for a special Beast-possessed Soul enemy to appear that will attempt to kill not just you, but other enemies as well. This can be used to your advantage, if you can lure this beast towards other deadly foes. It also gives the chance of a shop or a rare shop appearing, each with their own lineup of consumables for sale. The shops appear in the usual messenger baths, but the rare shop is run by Patches the Spider, and can occur only after you've encountered him in the main game. When he appears, he'll be dangling from the ceiling, offering a selection of useful items at vastly inflated prices.

4th Layer

Poison

This effect unlocks a dungeon's hidden 4th layer. The wall that blocks the path to the 4th layer will disappear after defeating the 3rd layer boss, so you should always pay attention before leaving a dungeon, just in case this happens. All enemies on the 4th layer, including the boss, give an extra 20% more Blood Echoes when defeated 4th layer bosses also have a slightly higher chance of dropping the best possible Blood Gems.

When this effect is active, many of the enemies appear in the dungeon will appear with a purple poison mist around their weapons. This means that their attacks can inflict Slow Poison, so you'll need to be fully stocked with Antidotes. It has no effect on drops or rewards.

Hidden Effects

There are, along with Additional Rites and Random Effects, some other completely hidden characteristics a dungeon can take on when created. These are mostly related to the enemies you'll find in the dungeon and how large its structure is. Many won't have a noticeable effect on the dungeon, but there are a few that can really shake things up. The most notable are the Spider Dungeon effect, in which the basic enemies are replaced by Children of Rom, which of course means the boss will be Rom, the Vacuous Spider. Another is the Boss Rush effect, in which you'll have to battle a few bosses one after the other, in a room that's exclusive to the effect.